Business Tips for Business Leaders

Tips For the New Manager: Adaptability and Finding Success with Change

Written by Jeff Rogers, CPMBC | August 22, 2023

Change is happening at 10x the speed of that 100 years ago, and the rate of change is expected to rise even further in the years to come. As a new supervisor or manager, your deliverable is learning to be proactive in front of the constantly changing landscape. The future is happening now; 40% of jobs today will cease to exist 10 years from now - buckle up!

Why Adaptability is Critical for Managers

As a new supervisor or manager, your ability to adapt is the key to achieving success in the face of change. IQ, EQ, and AQ are essential for success in our evolving supervisory and managerial worlds. 

How do you adapt to change currently? Can you see the invisible? Do you have insight into what scientifically drives adaptability in the workplace? Or do you, like most current supervisors and managers, suffer the punishment and get by as you are forced to change? I know I just struck you, but there is compelling science behind Adaptability. I bet you, too, will benefit from the information you will assemble in this short read!

New frontline supervisors and managers must develop the ability to see the invisible and confidently take appropriate actions to mitigate risk and thrive. Active listening skills are more critical now than ever. Work-Life Balance, Motivation, and whole Team Engagement are required, not optional, in this new game. Those who resist will be left behind. Those supervisors and managers who adapt and show they care will win. Those who do not…well, you get the idea.

Remember these stats when you're debating whether or not it's worth it to invest in this new skill:

Employees who strongly agree that their employer cares about their overall well-being, compared with those who don't, are:
- 3x more likely to be engaged at work
- 69% less likely to actively search for a new job
- 71% less likely to report experiencing a lot of burnout
- 5x more likely to strongly advocate for their company as a place to work
- 5x more likely to strongly agree that they trust the leadership of their organization
- 36% more likely to be thriving in their overall lives
Gallup: Jim Harter July 6, 2023

 

What Can I do right now?

As a new supervisor or manager, you must elevate your ability to adapt and tackle change with an upper hand. The problem with things like 'adaptability' is they're too fluffy and unmeasurable, right?  Wrong- Adaptability Quotient is the scientific measurement of one's ability to adapt to change.  

Adaptability is a measurement of intelligence and is a choice for the new supervisor, manager, and all team members. Adaptability is a muscle that can be grown methodically, should one make an effort. Here is the framework of Adaptability. These are significant tips for understanding how to adapt better.

* At JRCI, Jeff Rogers, CPMBC, has been certified by AQai at Level 2 to support new supervisors, managers, owners, executives, and all team members in scientifically understanding their ability to adapt. JRCI has helped many adapt and win the game of change. Have any questions about how to increase adaptability on your team?  Book a time to talk with Jeff!

 

The organization AQai has intelligently broken-down Adaptability into 3 primary sub-dimensions: Ability, Character, and Environment. AQai has developed The Adaptiotic Table, which identifies the primary and secondary sub-dimensions and further works to add value with Ai Predictive Optimism dimensions of the Change Readiness Index and Re-skill Index for teams, cohorts, and organizations.

AQai Adaptiotic Table  

Ability

How and to what degree do I adapt?

Subdimensions investigated and measured are Grit, Mental Flexibility, Mindset, Resilience, and Unlearn.

Character

Who adapts and why?

Subdimensions investigated and measured are Emotional Range, Extraversion, Hope, Motivation Style, and Thinking Style.

Environment

When does someone adapt, and to what degree?

Subdimensions investigated and measured are Company Support, Emotional Health, Team Support, Work Environment, and Work Stress.

Better understanding these sub-dimensions aid any supervisor, manager, or leader adapt personally, professionally, and organizationally. Until now, no such approach to Adaptability has been developed and implemented in this scientific method.

To improve anything, one must measure it. The AQai database of qualified respondents has been developed and continues to grow to offer a stable index against base individual and team sub-dimensional scoring. Gaining actionable insight via a scorecard measurement into these critical subdimensions involving Ability, Character, and Environment allows leaders to get real-time snapshots of individuals, teams, and the organization.

AQai is developed on inputs, processes, and outcomes, focusing on engagement drivers. This is to create and continually enhance predictive results in the invisible world of change.

Should I Consider Using the Adaptalibility Quotient for my Team?

The science behind the program is developed from evidence and background linked to business, intentional sub-dimension selection (Theory vs. Does it work), trait activation theory (I'm not alone–environment – influence), and contextual drivers and activators (inhibit vs. accelerate action).

AQai Reporting and Feedback tools are developed to provide leaders with accurate, informative, visual, and actionable data to lead better. AQai focus on dimension correlation, range in dimension bands, and advanced insights provide leaders with dependable tools to visualize and statistically clearly identify the current situation.

Correlation is a statistical technique that shows how strongly the pair of sub-dimensions are linearly related and change together.

Causation takes a step further. Any change in the value of one sub-dimension will cause a change in the value of another sub-dimension, suggesting one sub-dimension is the cause of the other—the cause-and-effect notion.

Dimension bands offer leaders the complete survey distribution of respondents to visually and numerically better understand where individuals, teams, and the organization land in each subdimension—very actionable information for any leader.

Correlation Matrix Heat-mapping tools allow leaders to visualize patterns in data unseen priorly. All reducing work stress. Utilizing science to gain valuable and actionable insight into Adaptability is of high value for any leader in any industry.

As a new supervisor or manager, your Adaptability is your success with change. By implementing this tool, you can better see the invisible. For supervisors, managers, or leaders working on visualizing the unknown, this data can be used to make better decisions, gain insight into relationships between sub-dimensions and what they mean, and better predict the future with data-driven information.

One's ability to successfully adapt to change separates the good from the great new supervisor or manager.

 

JRCI partners with AQai to deliver individual and organizational Adaptability Readiness Reports and feedback studies.  Setup a free 15 min call with Jeff to understand if this tool would work for your business.